10 Reasons Alex Trebek is Awesome

Quick, if you could pick any game show host to have on your side during a fight, who would it be? Bob Barker? C’mon. Everyone picks Bob Barker. Just because he wielded a mean set of fists in Happy Gilmore doesn’t mean he would in real life. No, I think you’d better go with Alex Trebek. Dude is tough. If you haven’t heard the latest Trebek-related news, check out #1 on the list, and then read on for nine other things that make him kind of amazing.

1. When he recently woke up his San Francisco hotel room to find a robber rifling through his possessions, Alex Trebek chased the robber downand cornered her in the ice machine alcove. He ended up getting everything back except some cash and a bracelet that was a gift from his mother.

2. Under the category "Things You Probably Didn't Want to Know About Alex Trebek": he sleeps nude. When he gave an interview to The Today Show this morning, Trebek mentioned that he put underwear on before tearing out the door after the burglar.

3. I guess we shouldn't be surprised by the commando sleeping, because he was once fully prepared to do part of Jeopardy! pantless. During the Ken Jennings era, Ken and his two fellow contestants, both male, decided it would help their nerves if they all stood in their skivvies behind their podiums. Alex agreed to join in, not realizing it was all a prank.

4. He was one of the original Men in Black on the X-Files. So was Jesse Ventura.

5. He carried the Olympic Torch for a leg through Jacksonville, Florida, for the Atlanta Games in 1996.

6. Unlike the Will Ferrell version of him, the real Alex Trebek has a pretty good sense of humor.

7. When asked if he watched Bob Barker’s final show on The Price is Right his response was, “I was doing some electrical work in an attic today.”

8. Time's Techland interviewed Trebek last year and said, "I always imagine an obscure question coming up at a dinner party and everybody says, 'Oh, well, let's ask Alex. He knows everything because of Jeopardy.'"

9. As a Christmas gift for the cast and crew of Jeopardy! one year, he took everyone indoor skydiving. He also once hired a dance instructor to teach them all to moonwalk (he himself opted out after an attempt or two).

10. And then there’s this video. Is he actually drinking? Hard to say. But there’s no doubt that he’s cursing like a sailor (there’s your forewarning).

Last week, a Russian news broadcast briefly went to the dogs after its host was startled by a surprise co-anchor: a friendly black canine that wandered on set, announced its presence with a loud bark, and climbed onto her desk.

As TODAY reports, Mir24 TV anchor Ilona Linarte went off script for a few minutes, telling viewers "I've got a dog here. What is this dog doing in the studio?" After the initial shock wore off, she gave her furry guest a tepid welcome, patting its head as she gently pushed it off the desk. ("I actually prefer cats,'' Linarte remarked. "I'm a cat lady.")

Linarte’s query was answered when the TV station announced that the dog had accompanied another show’s guest on set, and somehow got loose. That said, rogue animals have a proud tradition of crashing live news broadcasts around the world, so we’re assuming this won’t be the last time a news anchor is upstaged by an adorable guest star (some of which have better hair than them).

Two members of the public are set to take an historic trip around the Moon, according to an announcement from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. As The Verge reports, the anonymous private citizens have already placed substantial deposits on the commercial space flight.

The private spacecraft company SpaceX revealed on Monday that the Falcon Heavy rocket will be launching with its Crew Dragon spacecraft in late 2018. The mission will consist of a circumnavigation of the Moon, passing over the body’s surface before traveling farther into space and returning to Earth. In total, the trip will cover 300,000 to 400,000 miles and take a week to complete.

A noteworthy part of the plan is the human cargo that will be on board. Instead of professional astronauts, the craft will carry two paying customers into space. The passengers, who’ve yet to be named, will both need to pass several fitness tests before they're permitted to make the journey. According to The Verge, Musk said the customers are “very serious” and that the cost of the trip is “comparable” to that of a crewed mission to the International Space Station. The goal for SpaceX is to eventually send one or two commercial flights into space each year, which could account for 10 to 20 percent of the company’s earnings.